Lord+Durham

= __**Lord Durham**__ =

John George Lambton (April 12, 1792 – July 28, 1840) born in London, was the first Earl of Durham. He attended Elton and then joined the army in 1809 as a cornet in the 10th Hussars, which he resigned in 1811. From 1813 to 1828 he was a member of Parliament, which he was first elected in the election of 1812. He resigned in 1828 and was then raised to the peerage as Baron Durham. He helped draft the Reform Bill of 1832, resigning the next year when he was made Viscount Lambton and Earl of Durham. In 1835 he served as Ambassador to Russia and later was invested as a Knight of the Order of Alexander Nevsky.

 John George Lambton, also known as Radical Jack, was sent to the Canadas in 1837 to investigate the circumstances of the Lower Canada and Upper Canada Rebellions. He was considered for his idea of merging Upper and Lower Canada into one colony, but the policy of assimilation failed from 1840 to 1867 during the Union. Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine's party in the House managed to force re-establishment of French as a language of Parliament in 1842, which caused Lord Durham's policy of assimilation to face setbacks. In 1848, once responsible government was achieved, French Canadians in Canada East voted as a bloc in ensuring that they were powerfully represented and they succeeded. The result led to a movement for federal, which resulted in the creation of a federal state of Canada and the incorporation of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 1867.

 John had eight children in total. He married Lady Harriet Cholmondeley in 1812. He had three daughters with Lady Harriet, who all died before him. Lady Harriet died in 1815. He married his second spouse, Lady Louisa Grey (the daughter of Charles Grey) in 1816. With Lady Louisa he had two sons and three daughters. Lord Durham died at 48 years old in 1840, leaving his wife and only remaining son George behind. Lady Louisa died the next year in November, 1841.

Lord Durham spent only five months in the Canada's and less than two weeks in Upper Canada. His Report contained information about Upper Canada and in Lower Canada for his views about French Canadians. The recommandation about responsable government, originated with the Baldwins and other moderate reformers rather than with Lord Durham himself. although, the Report is perhaps the most significant document in Canadian history, in the history of the British Empire. Once the responsible government had been accepted and promoted by an official of the British government Here was Canada's and a giant first step toward independence from Great Britain.